Tomorrow and Then
by DreamingatNight
Summary: Five years have passed since we last left off, and now it's time for Rin and Sesshomaru's story to continue! Rin's on her way to becoming a great priestess and Sesshomaru is gaining more power, but their paths are sure to cross. Only what stands in their way of being together may be a foe whose power cannot be defeated.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello there to everyone! This is my 2nd fanfic after Lady Missy (which is still in process by the way)and I'm happy to share it with you.**

**It's basically the continuation of the Inuyasha story, only this time it's going to conclude with what happens to Rin and Sesshomaru afterwards when Rin finally grows up. It won't be easy to incorporate Sesshomaru's personality into this, but I'll try my best.**

**Don't worry, I'll also include the rest of those lovable characters like Inuyasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango and everyone else of interest. I will be including OCs of course, but that's because we need new villains besides Naraku and complications, etc.**

**Anyway, enjoy this story!**

* * *

Rin yawned and sat up in her bed. She turned and looked sideways at Lady Kaede who lay at the other side of the hut. Rin smiled at her familiar surroundings and then stood up to go into Inuyasha's forest. She quickly got dressed in her priestess clothes (a white top and a red bottom, just like Kaede and Kagome), and then grabbed her bow and arrows. She took a look around to make sure that she wouldn't be seen, but everyone in the village was still asleep. The sun had barely risen yet.

Rin stepped outside and felt the familiar earth underneath her bare feet. She could have worn sandals like Lady Kaede and Kagome, but she always felt best in bare feet. She quickly took off towards the direction of the forest, and made it to the meadow where the sacred tree stood, still baring the mark of when Inuyasha had been sealed to it. Here she began her work.

_Ready,_ she thought, pulling back her first arrow. Every time it was the same mark; the mark where the priestess Kikyo had bound Inuyasha. She took a slight breath and let go of the arrow. It hit the mark perfectly.

Rin then sat down and decided to stargaze for a bit while the darkness still remained.

It was over five years since when she had arrived in the village, and Rin was nearing the age of seventeen. She hadn't changed much, besides her hair growing longer and her face maturing a bit. But in her eyes, she still had that childish playfulness that she couldn't seem to let go of. Things like stargazing and hunting for watermelons still interested her.

She absolutely adored her life in the village and she loved everyone and everything that she learned. Still, a part of her still felt empty. Just thinking about that emptiness led her to thoughts of her lord, who was currently ruling the lands of the West and had not come to visit her in over two years. Rin always tried to console herself with thoughts of how busy her lord was and that was the reason why he didn't come. Still, every day she hoped and prayed that she'd see Sesshomaru gliding over th clouds and coming down to meet her. She knew that she couldn't be anything important to him, yet she still wanted to see him.

"Hey, couldn't sleep?" Kagome asked, coming from the direction of the village.

Rin shook her head. "I just woke up early and decided to take more target practice."

Kagome looked fondly over to the sacred tree, which had been the first place she'd met Inuyasha. "Yeah," she sighed happily, "the sacred tree does give you strength." She sat down beside Rin and observed her thoughtfully. "You're thinking about Sesshomaru again, aren't you?" she asked.

Rin couldn't deny it. Kagome was smarter than she had let on and she_ knew_; just always knew.

"You miss him, don't you Rin?" Kagome continued.

"A bit," Rin said. "I can't help wondering if he'll ever come for me. I'm soon going to be seventeen and I'm already grown. I thought that my decision to stay here or go with him would have already happened."

Kagome hid a smile, thinking that in_ her_ era, Rin would still be considered underage.

"Kaede says that time is one of the obstacles in life that we have to overcome," she said. "I know what you're feeling Rin because for those three years that I had to wait, away from everyone and everything I loved, I felt just as restless. But I had to accept it."

"Well my birthday's next week and I have no idea what I want to do to celebrate," Rin mused. "It's usually the same celebration every year with the villagers, but I'm just not as excited this year."

Kagome also gave it a thought. "Rin, maybe it's about time that you seriously consider being a priestess."

"Huh?"

Kagome smiled. "Well like you said, you're old enough and it might be the best thing. You could start travelling and slaying demons and just seeing more of the world. It might help you to get a new outlook on life; meet new people. After all, this village is pretty dull since me and Sango and Kaede are always around to protect it."

Rin nodded. "I guess you're right. Yes, maybe I will go soon. I'd like it to be after my birthday though; everyone's probably started planning something already."

Kagome blushed, since she was the _head _of all the party arrangements. "Alright. I'll talk to Kaede and maybe we can figure something out."

* * *

**Well that's the beginning, something to start off our little story. Some of you may be wondering: But when does Sesshomaru come in?**

**Patience, young grasshoppers, patience. He will come soon enough.**

**Anyway, please review, follow and even favourite if you're interested. More coming up soon!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well so far, I'm liking the positive response for the first chapter, so I'll try to make this second chapter a little bit longer. Enjoy and thanks for the favourites and follows so far!**

**Please feel free to submit more reviews though, because I'm always looking to get people's honest opinions on what I write.**

* * *

"Jaken!" Sesshomaru barked. The Lord of the West was sitting in his council room, holding a large scroll that displayed a message about some new minerals found in the nearby mines.

"Y-yes my lord?" the little imp cried, appearing from another room.

"What do you make of this?" Sesshomaru asked, tossing him the scroll.

Jaken read it over quickly. "It seems to be about a new mineral growing in our mines. What shall I do with it milord?"

"Mine it out, obviously," Sesshomaru said, leaning back in his throne. "We'll have to see if it makes for good weapons. Tell the miners I'll be checking on the process in about a week."

"A week?" Jaken cried. "But milord, it will be young Rin's birthday celebration in a week! Wouldn't you like to go this year?"

Sesshomaru raised his head. He hadn't visited Rin in over two years, although he had sent frequent gifts to her. He was much too occupied with his official duties to be bothered with travelling so far from his lands.

"How old will she be?" he asked.

"Ay, she'll be seventeen now, milord."

"Hmm..." Sesshomaru said. "I suppose this year I might attend. I'll send you to her village now to check up on her. If you see her, tell her I'll be coming to visit soon."

Jaken bowed and then hurried out of the room and then to the stables where A-Un was kept.

"A-Un, let's go! Hurry now to Rin's village!" Jaken ordered, whilst climbing on its back.

At the mention of the girls name, the dragon took off immediately into the sky, almost knocking Jaken off in the process.

_Seventeen eh?_ Jaken thought to himself during the flight. _That's quite grown up. I wonder if she's changed over these two years..._

* * *

Kagome entered into Kaede's hut.

"Ah Kagome," Kaede exclaimed. "What brings ye here?" It was already daybreak and the old priestess was working on a morning stew for breakfast. "And do ye know where yon Rin is?"

"Kaede, she's not a little girl anymore," Kagome said, sitting across from Kaede. "And yes, she's out near the sacred tree, target practicing."

"That tree gives her strength," remarked Kaede. "Just as if my sister Kikyo is guiding her."

Kagome smiled. "Kaede, you've grown really fond of Rin; we all have. Only it seems that her life in the village is not enough anymore."

Kaede stopped stirring the pot. "Not enough? I don't understand."

"Well see, this village is always safe with Inuyasha and Miroku protecting it. And even when they're away slaying other demons, the village still has me, you and Sango to protect it. So there's not really anything for Rin to do here since there's no danger or threat."

"What you're saying is that yon Rin wishes to have more adventure in her life?"

Kagome nodded. "I think she wants to meet with Sesshomaru again. It's been two years since he's last visited, but Rin still doesn't seem to forget him."

"My my," Kaede observed. "If what ye say is true, yon Rin will choose to follow Sesshomaru when the time comes for her to choose."

"I think so," Kagome sighed. "But I'm not even sure if that offer is still open. I wouldn't put it past Sesshomaru that he's forgotten the whole thing."

"Ay, you do make a valid point," Kaede said.

Rin, who had followed Kagome back into the village, overheard their entire conversation. Her heart filled with sadness at hearing the last part.

_Lord Sesshomaru has forgotten me?_ she thought. _Then there really is no point to my staying here. I can't stay; not even for my birthday._

"Kagome, Lady Kaede," Rin said, entering into the hut. Both women inside were startled at her sudden appearance. "I think it's best if I leave now."

Kagome stood up hurriedly and put her arms around Rin. "Rin, but why do you want to leave now?"

Rin looked away. "I heard what you said and you may be right. If Lord Sesshomaru has forgotten me and won't be coming around anymore, then there's no reason for me to stay here. I think it's best if I figure out my own destiny from now on."

Kaede continued stirring the pot. _If she be serious, then I pray that it not end badly for her._

"Wait one more day," urged Kagome. "Inuyasha and Miroku will be back tonight and at least let them say goodbye to you." Kagome knew that there was no stopping Rin once she put her mind to something. Despite being carefree and indifferent as a child, as a young woman she now had a lot of spirit.

Rin nodded. "Alright, if it's just to say goodbye."

* * *

"Miroku, hurry up!" an irritated Inuyasha urged.

"And of course you'll have many children," Miroku coyly said to a village girl they'd met on the road back. "The man father to your children will be a man of great knowledge; preferably a monk; maybe even the one..."

Inuyasha grabbed Miroku by his collar and dragged him away, leaving a confused girl out on the road.

"May I remind you that you're_ married,_ monk?!" Inuyasha demanded, annoyed. They'd just come from a village near a small lake where Inuyasha and slain a water imp. It wasn't hard obviously, but it was pretty annoying having to carry their gains which Miroku had cheated out of the villagers. He was carrying three sacks of rice and a barrel of sake on his back.

_Maybe Kagome'll give me a massage when I get back, _Inuyasha thought. He was more annoyed at having to wait around with that weight on his back and Miroku not helping, than seeing the monk flirt with random girls. Whenever he suggested that Miroku carry something though, the monk always insisted that he was too weak.

"Aww, you know I'm not serious!" Miroku laughed. "And what Sango doesn't know won't hurt her," he added in a low mutter.

These two figured made their way down the road to their village, with hopes of arriving at nightfall.

* * *

**Then end of this chapter doesn't leave much of a cliffhanger, but I thought that it was time to introduce Miroku and Inuyasha into the story.**

**Please review, favourite, and follow and then stay tuned for the next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm glad that people like this story so far and that they want it to continue. Thank you everyone for your support in this and I definitely will continue to write.  
**

**Ok, enjoy chapter 3!**

* * *

Nightfall quickly came and Miroku and Inuyasha found themselves back at home with their families.

"Miroku! Inuyasha!" Sango exclaimed when she saw them. It was evening when they had arrived, and she had been the first one to see them. "How was the trip?"

"Lonely without you, dear Sango," Miroku said, his hand already on his wife's butt.

Sango reacted by pinching his cheek hard. "I missed you too, dear."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but a big smile appeared on his face once he saw his own wife. "Oh, hey Kagome!" he greeted, as she rushed into his embrace.

"Inuyasha, how did it go?" Kagome asked, eyeing the sacks of rice and the barrel of sake. "Did Miroku cheat some poor villagers out of their food again?"

Miroku cleared his throat. "I go through a lot of trouble to support for my family, I'll have you know!" he argued.

Sango smiled. "Airi and Aiko and little Masato will be so happy to see you!"

"Ah yes," Miroku replied, thinking of his two seven year old twins and his five year old son.

"We'll be going now Kagome," Sango said, as she guided Miroku over to their hut.

"Inuyasha, be a good man and carry over those sacks and that barrel of sake, would you?" Miroku asked, not even turning to look back.

"Like hell I will after carrying them all this way, monk!" Inuyasha yelled.

Still though, in the end Kagome made him carry them anyway, but of course Inuyasha took a sack for himself.

"And to think that I do the most work," he mumbled, while he followed Kagome to their hut across from Kaede's.

"Never mind that Inuyasha," Kagome said, her mind too preoccupied. "I think we should be going over to Kaede's in just a bit because Rin's planning on leaving."

"Huh? Where to?" Inuyasha asked, confused.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not sure, but she's leaving the village. I think it's time that she pursues her career as a priestess and gets an official blessing. Kaede's already given her instructions on where to go to that same temple where Kikyo and even Tsubaki trained."

"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha said, not really having much of an opinion on it. "But hey, what about her birthday next week?!"

"She's not staying for that," Kagome replied. "I've already called off all preparations. All we can do is give her our present before she leaves."

Inuyasha set down the sack of rice as soon as they arrived at their hut. "But I don't get it, isn't she supposed to wait here until she makes that 'choice' with Sesshomaru or something?"

Kagome stayed silent for a bit. "Inuyasha, I don't know if Sesshomaru's going to come anymore."

"Wha-"

"I mean think of it! He hasn't showed up in two years' time and rather than have Rin wait here every day, hanging on to some false hope, it's better for her to focus on her own life and just accept that maybe Sesshomaru won't be a part of it."

Inuyasha sniffed. "The guy never was good at keeping promises. I don't blame ya for thinking like that."

"So we should go give her our present now," Kagome said, searching through an old bamboo box. "Ah, here it is!" she exclaimed, holding up a wrapped package.

So together, Kagome and Inuyasha went over to Kaede's hut where Rin was already packed and ready to go. Her possessions were few with only her bow and arrows, a bit of money, a blue pearl necklace which had been Sesshomaru's last gift to her on her sixteenth birthday when he couldn't make it and a map that Kaede had drawn for her to help guide her to the temple. Rin may have traveled a lot with Sesshomaru but her sense of direction had grown duller over the years of not travelling, so she was in need of a map. She had tucked the money, necklace and the map in her pockets and was just about to slide on her quiver of arrows when Inuyasha and Kagome entered the hut. Kaede had already said her farewells and had gone up to Kikyo's grave to pray for her success in the journey.

"Oh Kagome, Inuyasha," Rin exclaimed when they came in.

Kagome smiled. "Here Rin, you'll also be needing these for your mission."

"We wanted to give them to you later on your birthday, but well, maybe it's better now," Inuyasha said.

Rin accepted the parcel and opened it to reveal two bamboo sandals like the kind Kagome wore.

"Oh," she said, looking up at them.

Kagome smiled. "They're traditional sandals for priestesses. Kaede, Sango and I helped put them together and Miroku and Inuyasha found the bamboo to make them, so it's a gift from all of us."

Rin reluctantly strapped them on but as soon as she had them on, it just felt wrong. She wasn't used to sandals or any shoes for that matter.

"Thank you," she said. She then hugged Kagome and exchanged a brief pat on the back with Inuyasha.

Then she took her bow and arrows and pushed aside the door blinds and stepped out into what had become nightfall.

She was somehow reluctant to go and felt that she should stay the night, but on the other hand a part of her urged her to go forward so as not to waste time. Before she realized it, she had already crossed the river that separated the village from the forest and was at the sacred tree from where she had a view of her village. Down below, Inuyasha and Kagome were going back into their own hut.

"Goodbye," she whispered and then disappeared into the forest.

* * *

"Ooh, ooh slow down would ya?!" Jaken yelled.

They were nearing Rin's village and A-Un was getting more restless by the minute. The poor imp had to practically clutch on with his life. Finally though, A-Un slowed down and landed, just in front of Kaede's hut. The old priestess, as well as the whole village was asleep since it was well past midnight, and hours since Rin had left. Neither the imp nor the great dragon had smelled Rin's scent earlier for she left in a different direction from where they'd come from.

"Rin!" Jaken yelled and then a bit more silently as he realized that everyone was well asleep. "Rin..." he whispered, peeking through the blinds into the old priestess's hut.

_Hmm, not there? _he thought, as soon as he hadn't spotted her. _Er, maybe she's gone for a visit, or perhaps to take a bath?_

Jaken hopped back to A-Un and then realized that he _had _in fact woken somebody up. Who else but the most sharp-eared person in the entire village. Inuyasha.

"Oh, Inuyasha!" Jaken exclaimed, at seeing him so suddenly. "It's been so long and you haven't changed a bit!"

"Would you shut up?" Inuyasha asked, immediately greeting him with a punch. "You want to wake up the whole village?"

"My apologies," Jaken muttered, a large bump on his head. "But Inuyasha, would you mind telling me if you know where young Rin is?"

Inuyasha looked down at him. "Is that why you're here? Did Sesshomaru send you?"

"Ay, and he told me to deliver the message that he'll be attending Rin's birthday celebration next week. I'd rather you translate to that personally as long as you know."

Inuyasha's eyes widened. "Wait what? Sesshomaru was going to come this year?"

"Yes indeed, my lord has been very busy building his empire up to greatness for the past two years and has had no time to come and visit. But this year he had a bit more time at his disposal so..."

"Well he'd better save it then," Inuyasha sniffed. "Rin's not here."

"Wha! W-w-what do you mean not here?" Jaken exclaimed. Even A-Un turned it's head at this announcement.

"Just that," Inuyasha said. "She's left to pursue her life as a priestess or something."

"You...can't...be...serious..." the little imp whimpered. Then suddenly he fell to his knees. "Oh what shall I do?! Lord Sesshomaru's bound to have my head at that!"

* * *

**Indeed, what WILL Sesshomaru think of this once he finds out? Will he go after Rin, or will he be indifferent to it? Who knows?**

**Be sure to put your guesses in any reviews you might have and continue with the usual favourites and follows. Thanks!**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so touched with all the reviews I got for the last chapter so thank you so much to my fans! I hope this next chapter gets the same good results so here we go with chapter 4 of Tomorrow and Then!**

**We'll be resuming from that exact moment where we left off with Inuyasha and Jaken.**

* * *

Inuyasha sniffed. "Hey, it's not my problem. Just tell him and be done with it I guess."

"It is so your fault!" sniffed Jaken. "If you had stopped Rin from leaving, then I wouldn't have to go through this!"

TWACK!

Inuyasha once again punched Jaken in the head, irritated firstly at being woken up and then blamed for Rin's leaving the village.

"Hey, it's not my fault she left!" Inuyasha snapped. "It's not like I told her to go!"

Jaken wasn't even paying attention. "Oh Lord Sesshomaru...forgive me!" He then hopped onto A-Un and together the trio headed back towards Sesshomaru's western domains.

Inuyasha in the meantime decided to go back to sleep, thinking it was best if the others didn't know about Jaken's sudden appearance.

* * *

Rin slowed her walk and finally sat down, leaning against a tree. It was still nighttime but just an hour away from dawn and she had been walking the whole night to get away from the village, but now she was at her limit. The young priestess in training collapsed down and dropped her arrow. Rin took a few deep breaths and tried to convince herself to go forward, but it was no use since she was so tired.

_Oh, maybe I'll just sleep here for the remainder of the night and take off again in the morning, _she thought. She began to close her eyes when suddenly she heard a twig snap from nearly.

Instinctively, she quickly grabbed her bow and got ready to take an arrow but she couldn't get up yet. Her strength to walk had been worn out and all she could do was stay and defend herself rather than run. All she hoped was that it wasn't bandits because she didn't want to hurt humans and shooting arrows was her only option.

It was humans, however they weren't bandits. It was actually a lone villager and his son who were travelling the territory.

"Father look, it's a young priestess!" the boy exclaimed. He was merely a child of a young age and by the looks of it, his father was also quite young.

"Excuse us priestess, but do you know a way to the nearest village?"

Rin shook her head. Since it was almost daybreak and she'd left at sunset the previous day, she assumed that her village couldn't be too nearby. "I'm quite lost myself," she admitted. "My name's Rin."

"Pleased to know you," the man said, sitting down across from Rin and his son did the same. "My name is Oozora and this is my son, Hiroaki. We're both travelling from the lands of the west."

Rin's ears perked up. "The lands of the west? Ah, then surely you must have heard of Lord Sesshomaru, the Lord of the West?" she asked excitedly.

"Sesshomaru?" Oozora cocked his head. "Never heard that name before, our lord is Lord Shinzen. But if you speak of the lord of the demon world there, then yes, maybe it's the same fella."

"Have you ever seen him before?" Rin asked.

"No, can't say I have. Our village was plenty small and just at the border of the Western lands. We're often left alone from any dangers, demons included. We're all there protected by our shrine god who were offer prayers to daily. Sorry we can't help you there, priestess."

"Oh, I'm not a priestess yet," Rin blushed, assuming they were making reference to her clothes. "But I am training to be. I'm headed to a temple to train right now as a matter of fact."

"Ah, is that so! Well, we passed a temple some time ago just over yonder hills as soon as you cross this forest," Oozora said, pointing out the directions.

Rin smiled. "Thank you sir, I'm much obliged." But as she tried to stand, she involuntarily fell and Oozora and Hiroaki helped to pick her up.

"Priestess, you mustn't yet move. You seem quite tired," observed Oozora. "Come, let us take you to the nearest village which we believe to be just a few minutes walk from here. Please try to move as much as you are able."

Rin nodded, and keeping one hand over Oozora's back to steady herself, she along with the two new travelers she had met, made their way over to a nearby village.

* * *

Sesshomaru checked his newest reports of the mines, as well as a chart showing their successes so far and a sample of the mineral which he'd sent down to his armory to see what it was good for. He was just about to finish reading the report and start on examining the chart, when Jaken hurriedly landed A-Un right on the balcony.

"Jaken!" snapped Sesshomaru. "How many times do I have to tell you to land A-Un someplace else?!"

"B-but, milord this is important!" Jaken huffed. He'd made A-Un fly faster during the last part for fear of upsetting Sesshomaru by taking so long, and the poor imp had been struggling to hold on tight and not fall as A-Un sped up.

"What is it?" Sesshomaru asked, quite forgetting why he sent Jaken away in the first place.

"M-milord, I went to Rin's village as you requested," began Jaken, already fearing what would happen as soon as he gave the lord his news.

"And?" Sesshomaru questioned.

Jaken gulped. "I tried to deliver the message as you bid me do milord, but it appears that young Rin...n-n-no longer lives there!"

Sesshomaru's eyes widened but she stayed cold and still. _Rin's not there anymore?_ he thought.

"Why?" he asked, in a calm voice that scared Jaken more than if Sesshomaru had yelled at him.

"I-Inuyasha told me that she was going off to train to be a priestess," Jaken said. "And indeed, I saw no sight of Rin throughout the whole village!"

_She's gone to train? _Sesshomaru thought. _To be a priestess? I shall have to clear all things at this point._

"Jaken!" he ordered. "Find her."

"Y-yes my lord!" Jaken replied scampering back. "But er, what shall I say once I do find her?"

Sesshomaru thought a moment and then reached into his kimono and pulled out a packet wrapped in silk. "Give her this," he ordered, tossing it to Jaken who almost fell off of A-Un while catching it.

"A-ay milord."

And then they were off and Sesshomaru was left alone to ponder over his thoughts.

* * *

**Ooh, so Rin's met someone new, eh? I know I didn't get much into the description of Oozora, but I promise that I'll get to it in the next chapter!  
**

**Also, what's in that parcel that Sesshomaru gave to Jaken to deliver to Rin? I'll give you a hint that it was meant to be her birthday present. And also, what are Sesshomaru's thoughts on all of this?  
**

**Well, that all depends on you! Like in my other story Lady Missy (for those of you who've read it), I'm going to leave the choice to you.**

**If I get at least 3 reviews telling me to incorporate Sesshomaru's personal feelings into the next chapter, then I will. But if not, I'll just go ahead with the story as planned. Doesn't it feel good to know that you guys are influencing this story a bit?**

**Well, that's all for this chapter only please review, favourite and follow! Thanks guys!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ok, firstly I'm SO sorry that I didn't update yesterday, but it was a busy day so just consider it my day off or something! If I get decent responses though I'll be posting two chapters on both my stories today. OOOOk.**

**Also, for the incorporating Sesshomaru's thoughts into this chapter, since one 1 person reviewed that they wanted that, I won't be incorporating Sesshomaru's thoughts into THIS chapter, but never fear because they will come in later chapters.**

**Also, I promised descriptions of Oozora (and little Hiroaki) so I'll start off from Rin's perspective in this next chapter. Some of it is going to be about Rin anyway so stay tuned (I'll add a bit of Jaken and Miroku in it too, just for kicks).**

* * *

Rin opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling above her. She was in a hut with a wooden roof, and three other people where in the hut with her. For a moment she thought that she might be back at the village, but she wasn't. Two of the people looked familiar to her though.

One was a grown man, probably around his early thirties, and although he didn't look tall, he had an honest face and black hair tired in a short ponytail. Rin remembered him well. Oozora.

Beside him as a tiny figure with dark brown hair and a childish face was his son, Hiroaki.

The third person in the hut besides Rin, was an old woman whom she did not recognize at all. Rin tried to move and discovered that her strength was back. Looking outside, she observed that it was perhaps almost noon.

She moved about quietly, trying not to wake her companions, but Oozora woke anyway.

"Priestess," he called, as Rin was about to exit the hut, her bow and quiver of arrows in hand. "Are you planning to leave so early?"

"I must continue my journey," Rin said. "I've regained my strength and I must hasten to get to the temple where I am to train."

Oozora nodded. "I'll walk ya to the borders of the village."

And so the two made their way out of the hut and out onto the main roads, where people could be seen working on either side. Rin kept her face forward, but Oozora kept studying her face carefully.

"Ya know, you don't look much like a priestess to me," Oozora observed.

Rin breathed in. "I suppose most priestesses you've seen aren't so young."

"True, but there's a certain childishness about yer eyes that I just can't seem to overlook."

Rin nodded. In all her years of growing older, she still hadn't lost that childish glint. "I understand and agree with what you are saying, only that won't have an affect on my powers as a priestess," she argued.

"Indeed, I hope not," said Oozora. They walked on a bit more until the reached the borders and there Oozora stopped. "Do you know which direction to go?" he asked.

Rin nodded and pointed up towards some very distant mountains. "At where those mountains start over on this side, there should be a temple at the side of that mountain."

Oozora nodded. "God bid you well on your journey. I hope to be seeing you again, young priestess."

Rin hesitated, reached into her pocket and dropped two of her coins of money into his hand.

"For taking me out of that forest," she said and then she went off on her journey, her figure disappearing into the forest.

* * *

"Ooh, I think I'm getting airsick!" moaned Jaken.

It had been just a few hours since he'd left Sesshomaru's palace and although A-Un was doing all the flying, the little imp felt exhausted.

_Since when I have become a messenger anyway?_ Jaken asked himself. _Oh, when it comes to Rin though, Lord Sesshomaru spares no expense._

Suddenly out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed a dark light pass over the corner of his vision. Rubbing his eyes, the imp looked again but there was nothing.

_Hmm, I must be hallucinating now, _Jaken thought worriedly.

"A-Un, let's land for a bit," he begged.

A-Un landed carefully near a gorge river and set Jaken down. The imp gratefully scrambled over to the river and took a big gulp of water. "Ah, that's better!" he exclaimed.

"It's one of the springs of my purifying water," a voice echoed.

"Huh? Who's there?!" Jaken yelled, trying to locate the mysterious figure. But there was no one in sight.

* * *

Miroku yawned. "Good morning Sango," he said, greeting her with a touch on her butt.

Sango slapped his hand off. "Morning, monk!" she snapped. They just did it last night as a way of welcoming him home but every morning after that, he felt as if he ruled the world. Sango wasn't going to let her husband have his way though.

"Mama, papa!" Aiko screamed, climbing up on Sango, who was wearing her nighttime kimono.

"Goo' morning," Airi whispered, her thumb her mouth.

Although the twins had been quite alike as infants, now they grew to be exact opposites. Aiko was a strong-willed, spirited girl like her mother who wanted nothing more than to learn how to slay demons and Kohaku had already begun teaching her when she turned five. Airi on the other hand was exactly like her father, thinking mainly of advantages while doing something and also she inherited his lecherous nature, despite being a girl.

Masato their only son, on the other hand spent his time mainly in studies. He was very inspired by his father's holy teachings which Miroku taught him daily, and he was inspired to start training to be a great priest, even though he was just five.

Out of their children, Sango was closest to Aiko and Miroku was closest to Airi and Masato since Airi also went along for his praying classes.

"Good morning mother and father," Masato said, bowing at the entrance to his parents' room. He was so polite.

"Masato dear, come in!" Sango greeted. Once all three children had sat down on their laps, she smiled over at Miroku.

"Miroku, how would you feel about another child?" she asked.

Miroku thought about it for a while. "I'd like that fine. The more the merrier, I guess."

Sango smiled. "Well you might be getting your wish soon," she giggled.

"Huh?!"

"Yay!" cheered Aiko. "Another sister!"

"It could be a brother," Airi mentioned.

"I shall pray for a successful delivery," Masato said.

* * *

**Ok, that gave you a little look into the Miroku-family-picture near the end and YES, Sango's pregnant...again...**

**But the interesting parts are mostly about what more Rin is going to encounter on her journey, if Jaken will ever find Rin AND who is that mysterious figure that Jaken has just heard?**

**Keep favouriting, following and reviewing please and I hope to post another chapter very soon!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks for the positive feedback and thanks so much to those who take an interest in this story! **

**Ok, in this chapter we'll mainly be continuing with Rin's journey, but I'll also clue in a bit of Jaken's journey while I'm at it. The Miroku-family scene is pretty much over with Sango pregnant again and all, but I'll be bringing them up again soon!**

**Please continue supporting this story as we go into this next chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Rin had been travelling for a short period of time when she finally made it out of the forest and onto a country path through some hills. After reaching the third hill she'd climbed, she noticed a village down below. She did feel rather hungry since she'd barely eaten since she'd left and a village was bound to be a good place to get something to eat.

Rin made her way down to the village, but it was strangely empty. Rin looked around but there was barely more movement other than the wind shifting a few door covers.

_Where is everyone?_ Rin asked, wondering why it was so empty. Suddenly she noticed a foot out from behind a large pot by a doorway.

"Excuse me?" Rin said, approaching the pot. The foot was hastily pulled back but Rin already saw who it was. It was a small boy who was shivering with fright. Upon seeing Rin though, he calmed down a bit.

"Are you a priestess?" he asked.

Rin assumed that from then on, pretty much everyone would call her a priestess because of her attire so she just nodded.

The boy crawled out from behind the pot. He was dressed in a short blue kimono and he was covered in dust.

"Little boy, where are your parents?" she asked, forgetting the fact that the village was desolate.

"I have no parents," the boy said.

_So he's an orphan. Just like me,_ thought Rin. She immediately felt sympathy for the boy.

"Why were you hiding behind this pot?" she asked.

"I was hiding from demons," the boy said.

"Demons?"

"Yes. There's been a demon attack on my village and me and my older brother Kiinichi are the only ones who weren't taken."

"Where is your brother?"

"He went up training into the mountains a few days ago. He says our father was a sword-smith and so he went up to look for metal that grows in nearby mines and use it to make weapons. You see, some lizard demons recently moved into this territory and started attacking our village. Up until recently they were very weak, but now their leader has some new power and so they came and took all the villagers. Only I managed to hide," the boy said.

Rin pondered over what he said. "You say lizard demons have been attacking this village?" Then why hadn't Inuyasha or Miroku heard about this earlier? If it were true, weren't they one of the first people to be called?

The boy nodded. "Yes. But you're a priestess so I was wondering if you could help us. Oh, I know the villagers will pay you if you manage to free them."

_Lizard demons usually eat their prey alive once they catch it, but the boy claims that the villagers were all taken away. That doesn't make sense either,_ thought Rin.

"No payment is necessary," Rin said. "I need the experience in slaying demons anyway."

"Y-you mean, you've never killed a demon before?!" the boy asked, amazed.

Rin shook her head. "I'm just a beginner as a priestess but I do have a priestess' powers so I might be able to help. Lizard demons shouldn't be too hard to deal with anyway. Now if you could just point the way to their hideout..."

The boy shook his head. "No, it's too dangerous to go on your own! Their new leader has great powers otherwise they wouldn't have taken the villagers in the first place. Please wait until nightfall! Brother promised that he'd be back today and I was waiting for him."

Rin didn't see how an ordinary sword-smith might be of much help to her, but all the same she agreed to wait.

* * *

Jaken called out again "Who's there?"

"Step out of the water or it shall purify you to ashes," the voice called back. It was barely more than a whisper, but even A-Un heard it and stepped out of the water.

Jaken looked down at his feet and realized that they were starting to disintegrate. "Yah!" he cried, quickly running out of the water. "What kind of place is this?"

Then there was a glow from around the corner a small and fragile looking demon came out. It took the form of a human except for it's long purple hair and golden eyes. It was as small as a child, wore a blue kimono and had a green sign on it's forehead.

"Ah, hey you!" Jaken yelled. "Were you the one that created this wretched spring?!"

The demon shook it's head. "That would be the work of my master," he said. "I am the guardian of this, one of his many springs in the west. My name is Kotoma."

"Guardian eh?" _Hmm, he doesn't seem dangerous,_ Jaken thought. _But demons like him are not to be trusted. _

"Feel the wrath of the staff of two heads!" he yelled, pointing the head of the old man towards Kotoma. He blasted fire towards him, but when he finished he observed that Kotoma was already gone.

A-Un roared, telling Jaken that they should leave.

"Hmm, you're right," Jaken muttered, climbing onto A-Un's back, but he felt very uneasy.

_Who was that child and more importantly, who was that master that he mentioned?_

* * *

**Ok, we're done with another chapter. As for the part with Jaken, pay close attention to it because it has a lot to do with the story as we get into later chapters. For now I hope you enjoyed this one.**

**Please review, favourite and follow. Thanks readers!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi again! Ok, firstly I apologize for not writing for about 2 days but school came and that meant homework and etc.**

**Just so you readers know, I won't be posting as much during the weekdays because I still have school and other things to attend to now that I'm off vacation, but I'll try to get a minimum of 2 chapters out each week.**

**Putting aside all that though, this next chapter is rather important as far as Rin's story goes, and I will be involving Sesshomaru a bit near the end. But before we get into specifics, let me clarify a few things to put aside the worries I read in the reviews:**

**1. Kotoma is a BOY! So everyone, put aside any thoughts you have about Kotoma being a girl, because HE is a BOY. He does have long purple hair but guys can have long hair too (at least in anime they can!).**

**2. Sesshomaru doesn't know about Kotoma, his master or any of these purifying springs because they didn't originate in the Western lands and they were just recently added there. But please everyone be patient about this because there's a lot to it and it can only be revealed in future chapter but any questions you have about this will eventually be answered! Consider this just a sneak peek into it for those of you who actually bother to read my messages. *wink wink***

**Ok, those are my only messages to everyone so enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Rin waited with the boy, whose name was Tadao, until sunset and then they began to make preparations for his brother's arrival.

Tadao and Kiinichi lived in a broken down old shack near the outskirts of the village that were closest to the mountain where the lizard demons were said to have lived. Since the villagers had been taken away, Tadao had lived in other safer shacks, but he knew that Kiinichi would only think to look for him at home.

Rin helped Tadao tidy up the hut as much as possible and she even ending up making a stew from some leftover meet in the village and some herbs she had found in the forest. Rin felt guilty taking the villagers meat but she hoped they wouldn't mind it too much once they were brought back to the village.

In fact, she was really unsure about whether or not she could really defeat the lizard demons on her own. She knew that lizard demons were easy to defeat in general; so easy in fact that even Shippo who was still a child could do it easily, only she feared what Tadao had said about one of the lizard demons having great power.

_Inuyasha or Master Miroku could probably do it,_ she thought. Just imagining Inuyasha take care of all the demons with one sweep of his Tetsusaiga was something that seemed so real to Rin that it immediately gave her confidence.

"Priestess," Tadao said, disturbing Rin from her thoughts.

"Yes?" replied Rin, looking up from the fire. "What is it?"

Tadao hesitated while asking her this. "W-what if brother doesn't come back? What if the lizards got to him too while he was in the mine?"

"Oh!" Rin exclaimed, embracing him. She felt sympathy for him with all her heart because even if his parents were dead, at least he had an elder brother who was almost like a parent to him. Not only her parents, but also her brothers were killed by bandits so she'd always had no one. Just imagining the little boy, who was so much like her, without anyone in all the world made her heart ache.

"Don't worry," she assured him, trying to believe in her own words. "You told me yourself that your brother is a sword-smith so he must be strong. Now I know that lizard demons aren't very strong, and if I know anything about demon clans, I can tell you that the leader will never go out to fetch prey itself. Your brother will definitely come home."

_But if he doesn't then what shall I do?_ she wondered.

Suddenly there was a rustle outside of the hut.

"It's brother!" Tadao exclaimed, jumping out of Rin's lap and running outside.

"No wait!" Rin cried, following after him with the bow and quiver already in her hands. She had been so careless not to sense it earlier, but the lizard demons had been approaching the village! Their demonic aura wasn't strong at all and Rin wasn't experienced at sensing demonic auras since she hadn't been around Sesshomaru for far too many years, but even so she considered herself careless not to have noticed it!

But it was too late. She found Tadao frozen in place and around the hut stood about thirty lizard demons.

"Hmm, and a lovely priestess as well!" hissed one. "Oh, won't our master be pleased!"

Rin gulped but took an arrow in her hands and pulled back on the string of her bow. "Leave or I'm afraid I'll have to shoot," she cautioned.

* * *

Jaken had instinctively decided to go back to Sesshomaru's palace after his encounter with that strange spring and an even stranger Kotoma.

_I must tell Lord Sesshomaru of this strange happening,_ was the only thought on the little imp's head as he made his way down to the stables were he left A-Un to itself and hurried up the stairs into Sesshomaru's throne room.

Sesshomaru was lying down leisurely and examining Tenseiga, which he was considering sending over to Totosai to repair but knowing the old man and how he wasn't partial to working, he'd probably just hand it over to an apprentice and Sesshomaru only wanted the best work done on his sword, although he only used it on rare occasions. He finally noticed Jaken enter the room and was rather surprised at how quickly Jaken had returned, although it didn't show through his cold exterior.

"L-Lord Sesshomaru, milord I have something to report," the imp cried.

"Hmm," Sesshomaru said, tucking his sword back into it's sheath. "What is it?"

"M-milord, I was on the search for Rin just as you'd instructed, when I came upon an odd spring with strange purifying powers. A young demon by the name of Kotoma explained to me that it belonged to his master and that many such springs now exist in this region. It was all a very strange encounter and so I thought I should tell...you..."

Jaken barely finished his sentence before his sensed an annoyed aura around Sesshomaru although his master's expression had not changed.

"Jaken, when I send you to do a task, I expect you to do it before anything else. I didn't ask you to scout around the area for strange happenings. I asked you to find Rin."

Jaken looked down, shaking uncontrollably. "Yes my lord."

"Go out again and this time find her," Sesshomaru said sharply. "And if you do not find her this time, I will kill you."

Jaken gulped and then hastily ran out of the room to fetch A-Un.

Sesshomaru lay back down, deep in thought.

* * *

**Well, that's the chapter. Things are more intense for Rin than ever at this point and Sesshomaru's not even aware of it. He doesn't seem to care about Jaken's encounters either but maybe this is a good thing. His main focus is getting the imp to find Rin and that's a good sign, right?**

**Well, the next chapter will be mostly about Rin because this is her adventure after all!**

**Please continue reviewing, following and favouriting! I hope to have another chapter out this week! Thanks everyone!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok, this next chapter is going to be REALLY intense for Rin and actually I'm going to make it quite long but I'm glad that I have so many fans who probably WANT it long anyway so I hope you enjoy it!**

**It's going to be a lot of Rin, but I'll be adding in some quality time with some other characters as well.**

**Also, I know that pretty much all of you are pissed at Sesshomaru right now since he's so indifferent to everything, but think about it! Would he really leave everything in his empire just to go find Rin? If he was madly in love with her, maybe he would but that isn't the case. I'm actually going to start this chapter with more Sesshomaru-time since I haven't mentioned him too much in this story so far.**

**And if I'm pissing anyone off with being descriptive about what happens, I'm sorry but Inuyasha's always been pretty descriptive to me and I just love it so much that I have to put in good effort. Ok everyone, enjoy this next chapter which is going to be the longest one I've ever written on this site (so far).**

* * *

Sesshomaru watched until he saw Jaken and A-Un leave and then he noticed Tenseiga pulsing.

"What?" he asked it. "Do you want me to go?"

Tenseiga pulsed again as a response.

_Strange sword_, Sesshomaru thought, pulling out Tenseiga from it's sheath. _It seems to want me to go and find Rin._

The great lord lay back, deep in thought about his young ward. She was just another human after all, but she was different in some way although he rarely admitted it.

_Why should I go, Tenseiga?_ he thought. _Why should I leave my empire to go after one human girl? Now that she's started her life, it's clear that she's made her decision that she wants to stay among humans as a priestess. A priestess who slays demons_.

His eyes widened that this latest realization. Could Rin, who so loved demons and who used to be more afraid of bad humans than of demons, really slay demons willingly?

It was a thought that had never before crossed Sesshomaru's mind and it bothered him to think of Rin ever standing upright with an arrow at ready to shoot any demon. By any demon though, he thought of A-Un, or even Jaken. When the thought occurred to him though that Rin could ever perhaps point an arrow at _him,_ a painful feeling spread over his chest.

_Impossible, _he thought. _Rin could never..._

His thought stopped abruptly just as Tenseiga stopped pulsing. Sesshomaru put it back in it's sheath and then took off flying from his balcony. He was headed for Totosai's mountain.

* * *

The demons laughed at Rin's meager threat and stepped closer.

"Shoot then," the mocked her, unknowing that she was a priestess and more than capable of killing them.

Only Rin hesitated as she pulled back her arrow, since she knew it would pain her to slay any demon. But as Tadao clung in fear behind her, she was reminded that she also had another responsibility as a priestess to protect humans.

"Take us to where the villagers are," she demanded, keeping a firm grip on her arrow.

"Oh, so you know where you're going to end up," a lizard demon hissed. "In our bellies."

The all laughed in unison and then Rin put her arrow back in it's quiver.

"So if you're going to take us there, we'll come willingly," she said.

"What?!" Tadao couldn't believe his ears. "Priestess why?"

"Keep quiet," Rin whispered. "If we let them take us, then we'll find all the other villagers. There's no point in killing all of these lizard demons if we don't free the villagers, right? The only way to do that is to kill their leader! And then they won't be able to attack your villager any longer."

Tadao nodded, understanding what Rin was saying, so he followed along behind her as the lizard demons surrounding them and began walking up the mountain.

* * *

Sesshomaru flew much faster than A-Un and even though Totosai's mountain was far away, he still arrived at the foot of Totosai's cave in a short time.

"Totosai," he called to the old man who was sleeping down near his fireplace.

But when the old man didn't wake up and only twitched, Sesshomaru immediately woke him by shoving a hot coal on him by just kicking it. This was done quickly so the old man almost immediately woke when he smelled something cooking.

"Gah! Sesshomaru is it? You could've woken me up differently you know!" Totosai exclaimed.

"Silence," Sesshomaru said, tossing Tenseiga's sheath over to Totosai. "I want it sharpened."

"Hmm, Tenseiga eh?" Totosai asked, also eyeing Bakusaiga. "What about yer other sword?"

Sesshomaru looked down at Bakusaiga, wondering if he should also get it sharpened. "I said I want Tenseiga to be sharpened," he said, turning to leave.

"Hold on a minute," Totosai said, after drawing Tenseiga from it's sheath. "This sword needs no sharpening! Why, it's as good and powerful now as it'll ever be! Why do you want it sharpened, Sesshomaru?"

"What?!" Sesshomaru asked, turning and eyeing his sword. He grabbed it front Totosai and looked it over, but as Totosai said, it was clear.

_Tenseiga, I don't understand,_ Sesshomaru said. _Earlier you were full of rust and now you're all clear. What is this change_?

"I'll be leaving," he said, flying away from Totosai's cave.

_Keh, always too rash!_ Totosai thought, scratching his butt as he watched Sesshomaru leave. _If he stayed, then I could have told him about Tenseiga's special ability. Though Sesshomaru doesn't know it, his sword's unique in more ways than one! Unlike Tetsusaiga, Tenseiga had the ability to rebuild itself! Even if it were torn in half like the Tetsusaiga once once, it could easily put itself back together down to the very last shard. Why, it doesn't even need a sword-smith to sharpen it or anything! Sesshomaru doesn't even know what he has. But wait! This would only have happened if Tenseiga would have sensed a change of heart in it's owner. Does that mean that?_

But in the end, Totosai just shook his head and went away from the thought.

* * *

The walk to the lizard demons' lair wasn't long, and there Rin and Tadao found all of the other villagers in cages.

"Tadao!" his friends yelled as soon as they recognized him. "They got you too!"

"Don't worry everyone," Tadao assured them. "I've brought a priestess here who can help us!"

"Did someone say Tadao?" The crowded parted aside to reveal a young man with a bandaged head. "It is you!" he exclaimed, rushing forward as Tadao and Rin were ushered into the cage.

"Brother!" Tadao rushed forward into the arms of the man, tears in his eyes.

_So that's his brother,_ Rin thought, as she eyed the young man. He was young and looked like a pretty decent sword-smith, only he was badly injured and one of his arms was in a cast.

"Um, excuse me," she said, sitting down next to them. "But can you tell me what happened to you?"

"Oh, first let me thank you for having taken care of my brother priestess," Kiinichi (the brother) said. "As for what happened to me, I cannot say. It was not the fault of the lizard demons though. If it was, I could have defended myself because lizard demons are not all that much to worry about. You see, just a few days ago as I was getting ready to go back down the mountain, I encountered a strange child wandering around the woods. I went over and asked if he was lost but he wasn't crying, nor did he look sad."

"A child out in the woods?" Rin asked. "How very strange." _Although, I was also always in the woods..._

"And then he told me that he was looking for a bee's nest to gather honey and so naturally I pointed one out to him. He thanked me and then gave me a drink of water from a small bottle he had in his pocket," Kiinichi continued. "I drank what he offered and then made my way down the mountain. But then I had the strangest feeling that made me feel very tired and so I fell. The path I happened to be walking on what very steep and in the end I'm afraid after rolling down that path, I hit my arm on a sharp rock as well as my head. And so I wasn't able to fight the demons all that well."

_How odd..._ Rin thought, wondering about the entire incident. "Well, I shall treat your wounds as soon as we get out of here," she assured him.

"Can you really get us out, priestess?" a village woman asked.

Rin nodded confidently. "I know I can. Only we need to wait until their leader calls for us."

At this the villagers panicked but then Rin added "If we slay their leader, then they'll have no more power and so your village won't be attacked any more," she assured them.

They weren't much convinced,but Rin knew that she was right. Only she worried that her power might not be enough to slay the demon.

* * *

Miroku and Sango had woken up early that next day and had gone over to Kagome and Inuyasha's hut. Unlike Kagome, Sango hadn't known a thing about Rin's plan to leave and neither had Miroku.

"So she's really gone," Miroku said, after Inuyasha and Kagome explained the entire thing. "I wonder how Sesshomaru will take the news..."

"Keh! Why would he care? It's not like he's actually checked up even to see if she's alive or dead in the past too years!" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Inuyasha, sit!" Kagome said, annoyed.

THUD!

"Anyway," Kagome continued, "that's the main issue here. Rin only left because she wanted to gain more power in hopes that it would bring her closer to Sesshomaru."

"She still intends to follow him?" asked Sango. "I thought she was staying here with us!"

"Perhaps it's best if she does acquire more power," Miroku said, thinking about Rin's past when she had been extremely defenseless. "And even if that doesn't bring her closer to Sesshomaru, it'll still be good just for her."

"Miroku's got a point," Sango said, agreeing with her husband.

Kagome frowned. "But still, what about what Rin wants? She's always wanted to be with Sesshomaru more than anything and Sesshomaru doesn't even seem to care."

"Well what do ya expect?" Inuyasha asked, leaning back. "Listen everyone, I've known Sesshomaru longer than any of you, and I can tell you that he wouldn't go out of his way for any demon, never mind any human."

"Yes, but Rin's different," Kagome said. "Think about it, Sesshomaru's reigning over the entire Western Empire right now and if he really hated humans as much as he used to, wouldn't he just kill them all or something? Instead, everything's continuing normally in the west without any problems. I think Sesshomaru really _has_ changed!"

Inuyasha sighed heavily and then suddenly remembered about his encounter with Jaken, which he hadn't mentioned yet.

"Uh, about that, maybe Sesshomaru's not as uncaring as I said," he admitted nervously.

"Huh? What do you mean?" Sango asked.

"See, uh, Jaken came to the village last night..."

"Jaken did?!" Kagome exclaimed. "And why didn't you tell us?!"

"I forgot ok!" Inuyasha yelled back. "But anyway, he came to tell Rin was Sesshomaru was going to come to her birthday celebration this year."

"WHAT!?" Kagome exploded.

* * *

Rin and the villagers were taken to the leader of the lizard demons around midnight and as Rin laid her eyes on the lizard demon, she immediately realized that his demonic power was more than the one of the other lizard demons.

"Master, we've brought the villagers!" the lizards exclaimed.

"Excellent!" hissed the larger lizard demon. "Now we'll have a feast!" They all laughed.

The villagers all clung to each other, terrified of their fate. It was Rin who stepped up and pulled back her arrow.

"Forgive me," she yelled, pulling back on the arrow and letting it fly towards the demon. It was a purifying arrow and it was aimed directly for the demon's heart. Although it shrieked in fear, and the arrow hit it perfectly, nothing happened. It had done no more damage than a normal human arrow.

The demon looked down and laughed. "I am invincible!" it cried. "The Pure One was right!"

_Pure One?_ thought Rin and then her eyes focused on the demon more clearly. It was dark, and her priestess powers weren't all that good, but she certainly felt the presence of something pure. That sense of purity...seemed to come from the demon!

_So that was why the arrow didn't have an affect,_ Rin thought. _Only how could a demon be purified like that?_ Not hesitating, this time she took out another arrow and put into it the powers of sealing like the one Kikyo had used to seal Inuyasha to the sacred tree. She shot once again at the demon's heart, but this time it wasn't afraid. It stuck out it's chest, making for an even more perfect target. The arrow struck it directly and the demon stopped moving. It stopped moving, stopped breathing, and even it's heartbeat was stopped. It shrank down to the grounds, not dead but not quite alive either.

The villagers all cheered as the weaker lizard demons ran, afraid of Rin's arrow.

"Priestess, that was incredible!" Tadao cried, rushing to her side. "You defeated the demons!"

_Yes, _Rin thought. _Not only that, but I now have a way to slay demons without completely killing them! But still...why was that demon so pure?_

Later on, the villagers threw a feast for Rin which she had tried to decline, but the villagers had persisted. Rin sat beside Kiinichi and Tadao at the large banquet table.

"Thanks to you priestess," Kiinichi said, "our village is a much safer place now."

Rin smiled at him, happy that she had been able to help and gain a new technique for slaying demons at the same time. The encounter had bothered her a bit since it was unusual, but she decided to ignore it. She had also healed Kiinichi's wounds and everything was well again.

"I must be going soon," she said after the banquet, but the villagers bid her stay the night. Rin did and then took off on her journey again in the morning, with only one thought in her mind.

What was _the Pure One?_

* * *

**Wow, this has been a long and extensive chapter so I hope to get a LOT of reviews, and hopefully long ones as well!**

**Also, please continue following and favouriting! I hope you enjoyed reading it almost as much as I did writing it. More coming soon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hi everyone! I've been busy but now I'm happy to finally be able to continue this story because I've got lots of ideas on what to include. Rumiko left a lot of room for continuation in Inuyasha and I'm going to use it.**

**I'll be starting off with a 'touching' Inuyasha scene. **

* * *

"You're SO DEAD!" Kagome yelled down at Inuyasha as soon as he told them the news.

Inuyasha quickly hid behind Kirara who was in her larger form.

"C-calm down Kagome," he snapped, but it was clear that he was scared. He still wore the necklace which made him obey the 'sit' command and his wife could be more than just harsh when she was mad.

"CALM DOWN!?" Kagome growled. "Calm down?! How can I calm down when I encouraged Rin to go away from the village?! The main reason she went was mainly because she was convinced that Sesshomaru was never going to come for her anyway!"

"Hey, it's not _my_ fault that the guy's untrustworthy at keeping a promise!"

"SIT!"

THUD!

"That's not the point!" Kagome continued. "The point is that Sesshomaru would have come this year and this might have been the time for Rin to make her decision! Now she never will!"

"Well that's not my fault!" Inuyasha exclaimed. Everyone paused and looked at him. "Look, it really isn't," Inuyasha said more calmly. "Jaken only came late at night after Rin left and by then even her scent was gone. I couldn't have found her to bring her back if that's what you wanted me to do."

Kagome just continued to glare at him, unsure of what else to do.

Inuyasha sighed. "Maybe it's just better this way. Rin may have been Sesshomaru's little pet once, but now it's different. She's grown up and although she still holds some hope for him, it's best that she lost all of that hope now. Look, even if she _did_ go with Sesshomaru in the end, he would still betray her eventually."

"I think ye be getting that wrong, Inuyasha."

"Lady Kaede," Miroku said as the old priestess entered into the hut.

"Ay. I heard ye all the way from Kikyo's shrine where I went to pray. It seems to me that ye be debating about Rin's departure."

A silence fell over the hut and Sango was the first to break it. "But Lady Kaede, Inuyasha may have a point. We've all encountered Sesshomaru before and it's just like Inuyasha says. No one knows when Sesshomaru just might leave Rin. He hasn't seen her for two years and..."

"I know that well, Sango," Kaede said, sitting down. "But at the same time whilst being cold and distant, Sesshomaru is noble and determined and I cannot believe that he would break any promise, even to a human girl. Let us not forget that Rin may be the one exception to Sesshomaru's hate of humans."

"Kaede, you're not suggesting that Sesshomaru might care for Rin, are you?" Kagome asked.

Kaede shook her head. "Perhaps not, but that is for him to decide. Rin cannot help but feel drawn towards him for he may be one of the only happy things to have happened in her childhood. But time does pass and feelings along with it."

Kagome turned her head away. "Rin's not the kind of girl to forget things," she said simply.

And so the adults departed the hut one by one, leaving Inuyasha and Kagome alone. Kaede had to go to prepare her dinner and Sango and Miroku had to care for their children which they had left in the care of their neighbors. Kagome and Inuyasha were both silent, their own thoughts and opinions kept to themselves.

* * *

Rin held her head up and breathed the fresh air.

_It's almost like it used to be,_ she thought. _Like when I was with Master Jaken and Lord Sesshomaru..._

She clutched at her chest where she felt a sudden ache. That often happened when her thoughts when back to Sesshomaru.

_No, I have to focus!_ she urged herself. _I've got to become a strong priestess in order to get close to my lord. I'll be in the Western lands in no time and then surely our paths will cross! But what will happen when they do? Will Lord Sesshomaru still accept me? Can I even go with him if I'm to be a priestess that slays demons? Only I've slain a demon by not completely purifying it; a sealing arrow works just as well on all demons since no force can remove it one it's placed unless I take it out with my own hand. But what will Lord Sesshomaru think of my slaying demons? What will he...?_

The young woman stopped and sat down near a tree. Over and over again her thoughts went to Sesshomaru and she couldn't get them out of her head. She couldn't help but feel that she wanted to see him again and have him see her and how she'd grown but with all his power in his empire he seemed farther away than ever. He could never be just 'her' Lord Sesshomaru while he ruled over the lands of the West.

"Why are you crying?" a soft voice asked.

Rin looked up to see a small boy with long purple hair and wearing a blue kimono. In his left hand he held a few big leaves. His eyes were a solid blue but Rin could tell just by the look of him: he wasn't human. She stood on her guard and stretched her hand, ready to take an arrow.

The boy cocked his head to the side. "Why do you shoot? I will not harm you, priestess."

"You are a demon, are you not?" Rin asked. She obviously wouldn't kill a demon just for being a demon, but she had to be aware of her own safety. The demon didn't look dangerous though; it even assumed a human appearance. "What do you want with me?"

"I am a spirit," the child declared. "A shikigami tool that my master uses."

"And who is your master?" Rin asked.

"A pure and noble lord," the boy explained.

Rin's pulse quickened. "Is he by any chance named Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked, hoping that it was.

"No," the boy replied, and Rin's shoulder's dropped. "He is given many names but most call him the Pure One."

_That name again,_ Rin thought, her thoughts going back to the lizard demon she had slain earlier. "And just where is this lord of yours?" she asked. "Is he a demon?"

"Should you like to meet him?" the boy asked. "He will accept audiences with all priestesses and monks with purifying powers."

Rin put her arm down, convinced that the boy meant her no harm. Shikigami couldn't directly harm humans unless ordered to do so by their masters.

"I am Kotoma, guardian of the Northwestern pure springs that my master has created," the boy said.

_Pure springs?_ Rin wondered. Her curiosity was beginning to get the better of her. "What are you doing here in this forest then?" she asked. "This forest is in the south."

"I have come to gather ingredients," Kotoma said, holding out the leaves. "Large medicinal leaves, pure water and honey. All that is needed to..."

"Wait, did you say honey?" Rin exclaimed, remembering Kiinichi's story about a child in the woods searching for a beehive. Could this be that very same child?

"Of course. The sweetness of honey is essential," Kotoma said.

Rin stood up, no longer fighting her urge to leave this business alone. She was far too curious to just let it go.

"Does your master have any intention of harming humans?" she asked, her maturity warning her to be cautious. Her curiosity from childhood still remained though.

"No. He is called the Pure One for he never harms humans," Kotoma replied.

"Then I'll meet him," Rin said, decidedly.

* * *

_Why Tenseiga? Why do you still pulse?_ Sesshomaru thought as he sailed through the skies back to his palace. _And why is it that you were rusted before and yet_ now_ you're like new. I don't understand. _

Sesshomaru then sailed down near the edge of a river and sat on the shore, staring at Tenseiga which he had decided to keep in his sheath. As he looked down at it, he also noticed the water that was unusually clear and clean. He reached down to take a bit in his hand but the instant he touched it, he felt a painful shock as if lightning had struck his hand. Looking down, he noticed a slight burn mark on one of his fingers.

_Purified,_ he thought. _But why? Is this the purifying spring that Jaken spoke of?_

Suddenly he heard slight movement from nearby but his nose caught on before his ears did. That scent was unmistakable.

Rin.

* * *

**GAH! I know, I know, this leaves you at a complete cliffhanger but that's just the good part about chapter endings right? What will happen in the next chapter as Rin and Sesshomaru are brought closer than I've ever brought them before in this story? You'll have to wait to find out.**

**Please give me DESCRIPTIVE reviews about what you think of this story and also please continue following and favouriting this. Thanks and I hope to have another chapter out tomorrow if the responses are good.**


	10. Chapter 10

**I just couldn't wait to release this new chapter because I get how you guys feel with now it's getting interesting now! Ok, here we go with chapter 10 and it's exactly when Sesshomaru and Rin are meeting! Let's go!**

* * *

It was Rin's scent for certain, but it was mixed along with another scent that Sesshomaru didn't recognize. Sesshomaru quickly hid behind the waterfall at the head of the cliff, his hand ready on Bakusaiga.

Two figures emerged on one side of the river and stopped where Sesshomaru has stood just a moment ago. Sesshomaru's eyes fixed on the young woman standing near the water, and altogether his hand dropped from his sword.

_Rin? Can it be?_ Sesshomaru thought. _She's changed from what I remember. Judging by her clothes Jaken was right when he mentioned that she was off training to be a priestess. The boy on the other hand is not human. A shikigami I presume. What is Rin doing by this spring though? I'll wait and observe._

Sesshomaru's eyes were wide as he stared out at where he saw Rin along with Kotoma.

"What do you think of my master's spring?" Kotoma asked.

Rin glanced down at the water, having no idea that her former lord had just been touched that very spring only a moment ago.

"It's beautiful," she said, putting her hand into the water. "Completely pure."

_The powers of the spring have no affect on her,_ Sesshomaru thought, recalling how the spring had nearly burned all of his hand. _But she's a priestess now, so she must be immune to it's powers._

Rin stood up and faced Kotoma. "Why take me here though? I asked to meet your master, not to see a purifying spring."

_His master? The creator of the spring?_ Sesshomaru wondered.

Kotoma calmly took out a small bottle and put some water from the spring inside it before handing it to Rin.

"This will protect you in times of danger," he said. "If you should ever have need of it's powers..."

Sesshomaru glared down at the child. _Water? Does he mean to say that a little WATER could protect Rin?!_

Sesshomaru sailed down from behind the waterfall in an instant and landed just barely beside Rin.

"Who is your answer?" he asked, the usual coldness on his face.

Rin gasped upon his sudden figure. Was it...? Could it really be...? Lord Sesshomaru was right next to her in the flesh! His hair still long and silver, his armor suited to him perfectly, his golden demonic eyes, his noble and handsome face! Could it all really be true that he was standing there next to her!? Rin's eyes didn't wander away from his face for even a moment! She looked at him with the same childish wonder that she had had before and still she gazed upon him as if he were a god. The feelings in her heart quickly spread over her body and the hand in which she held her bow because to shake with nervousness.

Sesshomaru on the other hand was as cool as before, his eyes never leaving Kotoma. He too was aware of Rin's prescience though.

Kotoma had already passed the bottle to Rin though, and so he stepped back.

"My master does not wish to see you yet, priestess," Kotoma said, yet his eyes stayed focused with awareness on Sesshomaru. "Until then consider this water his gift to you for it's powers will only have affect for either a demon or the wicked at heart. Use it well." And then Kotoma transformed into a streak of light and sailed away from them through the sky. Sesshomaru didn't sail after him.

"Lord...Sesshomaru..." Rin said, finally finding her voice.

Sesshomaru turned to her and looked directly at her face. It had changed so since the last time he'd seen her.

"You are well I see," he said.

It took almost all Rin had not to burst out crying at her Lord's sudden return. Never had she expected to meet him at that time though! She'd thought that she'd never be able to lay eyes on her lord ever again and yet here he was!

She kept her composure though and nodded. "Yes," she replied, not saying anymore. She avoided eye-contact however. She felt that she couldn't look him in the eyes just then. Something felt different, and she wasn't sure what. Perhaps it was the sudden meeting with him or the anticipation and fear for what he was going to say. She didn't know.

"And you are planning on becoming a priestess?"

Rin got a hold of herself. "Uh, yes! That is, I was headed to the Temple where Lady Kikyo trained many years ago! That is the place where all priestesses must train to gain their title."

"And you wish to gain this title?"

Rin looked down. "I-I..." She didn't continue further because she didn't know what to say.

Sesshomaru looked down at her and wondered what she could be thinking. It bothered him a little that it seemed that things between Rin and him have changed. Of course he hadn't expected that they wouldn't since he knew full well that he hadn't seen his ward in over two years.

"You have not met with Jaken then?" he asked.

Rin looked up at last. "No, why? I haven't seen Master Jaken at all."

"I see," Sesshomaru said. "Then you haven't received my gift."

Rin cocked her head to the side. "Gift?"

"I intended to give it to you on my next visit to the village."

Rin gasped, her eyes wide. "Y-you were coming to my birthday celebration next week, Lord Sesshomaru?" It was the first time she had said his name since they'd met. To both their ears it sounded foreign.

Sesshomaru turned. "If you are going to be a priestess, it wouldn't be suited," he said. "I shall tell Jaken to stop searching for you, now that you have been found."

Rin stepped forward. "Wait Lord Sesshomaru!"

Sesshomaru stopped walking but he didn't turn around.

Rin paused for a minute. "Y-you had Master Jaken looking for me?"

Sesshomaru chose not to answer her question. "My empire is set, Rin," he said. Hearing her name being said by his voice was something that sent a chill through Rin. "There is no reason for me to be kept away. I would have come to your celebration this year but that too is not necessary now. If you are to become a priestess then there is no need for..."

"Do you mean to say that I can't see you anymore Lord Sesshomaru?!" Rin yelled, tears in her eyes.

Sesshomaru flinched, an aching feeling forming over his chest for the second time. He turned back to face Rin, and only then did he notice the tears on her face.

Rin could no longer hold back. _So Lord Sesshomaru really won't see me_ _anymore! I won't ever again get to be with my lord! I was the one who chose this path to become a priestess and yet...I never would have done it if I had known that it would keep me away from Lord Sesshomaru! Why!? Why?!_

Sesshomaru stepped forward and then put his right hand upon her left cheek, wiping away a tear.

"Did you not expect that?" he asked, his face like a statue. On the inside though, he was also pained.

Rin shook her head. "My lord, I never expected to see you again...I-I only thought to move on with life if I never did see you again..."

Sesshomaru pulled his hand away. "It was from those two years I didn't see you, is that correct?" he asked.

Rin nodded.

Sesshomaru looked up past Rin. "Rin," he said after a while, causing her to look up again. "If you should want to continue on this road of becoming a priestess, it will be for the best. I will not stand in your way if that is what you decide. If you should never want to see me..."

"Please don't ever say that, Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin exclaimed. "I could never stop wanting to see you!" More tears flowed from her eyes but she continued to look up. "Lord Sesshomaru, have you grown to despise me as you do other humans that you wouldn't want to see me anymore?" At this her voice cracked and she clasped her face in her hands.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened and he too gasped. Once Rin had calmed down though, he continued. "Then if you should want to see me again, you may always expect me from now on."

Rin looked up at him. "Huh?"

Sesshomaru looked down on her, for the first time showing a slight hint of sympathy in his eyes. "Every night of the full moon, expect me to come to you. Never think that you have been abandoned."

And then without another word, he finally sailed off towards the sky, leaving Rin alone. He cast one more glace back at her, and saw a new ray of hope in her young face that immediately eliminated the pain he had felt earlier.

"Thank you, Lord Sesshomaru," whispered Rin and then she shed one last tear before regaining her composure and heading back into the forest. Her thoughts remained on the next night of the full moon.

* * *

**WHEW! I can tell you right now that that was NOT easy to write, especially since I had to pause so many times and see if I could imagine Sesshomaru saying those words. I actually could imagine him like that so I hope that it satisfies all of you as well. I'll be introducing Kohaku and Shippo in the next chapter so stay tuned for more lovable characters!  
**

**Please continue with the reviews/favourites/follows with this story! Thanks for the support! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Well now that misunderstandings have been cleared up and Rin and Sesshomaru have finally met, it's almost as if all problems are over, right?  
**

**WRONG! There's still a lot more to happen, especially when Sesshomaru visits Rin on the night of the full moon. Well in this chapter, I'll be reintroducing (since Rumiko did the official introductions) Shippo and Kohaku. They also have to come in at some point right?**

**Yes, this story is mostly going deeper and deeper into Sesshomaru and Rin's relationship, but it's also my version of the ENTIRE continuation on the Inuyasha series so I have to include everyone who isn't dead. Ok, here goes!**

* * *

Kohaku was flying through the skies on Kirara, after his tiring missions in the northeast. Recently there had been many demon attacks in that area and since Inuyasha's village was too down south, neither Inuyasha, Miroku or anyone had heard about this. Kohaku had grown up to be a strong and capable demon slayer though, so he could handle it alright. Only he was in a hurry to get back to the village in time for Rin's birthday.

He had gotten her a special present this year to make up for when he had missed her sixteenth birthday last year since he'd been busy fighting demons in one of the villages at the base of where Mount Hakurei used to be. He remembered that time well when he still used to be under Naraku's control. He shuddered at even the thought of it. In the past years he had been trying hard to make up for all of his mistakes in the past, even though it hadn't really been his fault since he was being controlled the entire time. But now he was almost twenty and was starting to get away from those painful memories.

_I can't wait to see Sango again! _Kohaku thought excitedly. _And Miroku and Inuyasha, Kagome and Rin! Even Lady Kaede and those nieces and nephew of mine!_ He was quite pleased with these thoughts, and even Kirara was flying with more speed and agility. Suddenly Kohaku noticed a small fire in the forest below.

"Kirara wait," he ordered, causing Kirara to stop. Looking down, Kohaku squinted to see if anyone was there but from that high up, it was hard to tell. "Let's go down there," he said.

Kirara sniffed the air once and then quickly sailed down towards the familiar scent.

Down below in fact, the fox demon Shippo (who had actually grown up to be taller since he was a 15 year old fox now) was practicing some of his newly developed foxfire. During most of the five years since the story last left off, he'd been training at the Fox Magics School along with some of his new fox demon friends and had learned many new techniques while he was there. He had passed all 30 levels and was now actually a teacher there to some of the youngest foxes. He too was taking a break from working to come visit the village for Rin's birthday. Only he'd gotten a little...sidetracked.

"Shippo!" Kohaku called down while smiling.

Shippo looked up. "AH! I can't believe it! It's Kohaku!"

As soon as Kirara landed, Shippo immediately ran to Kirara.

"Hello Kirara!" he laughed as she licked his cheek. "How is everything?"

Kohaku breathed a sigh of relief. "Wonderful ever since we could get away. Me and Kirara have been fighting demons non-stop for the past month and to tell you the truth, we're both looking forward to a break."

Shippo nodded. "I've also been working hard back at the school and I was also headed back to the village. I was trying to come up with some new techniques since the old ones don't seem to be catching on."

"Would you like a ride back to the village Shippo?" Kohaku asked. "It shouldn't be very far from here."

Shippo lovingly petted Kirara's fur. "It's been a long time since I rode you Kirara. Do you think two riders would be ok?"

Kirara purred back a response and then let Shippo and Kohaku hop aboard. Little did the three of them know that their journey was in vain since Rin wasn't in the village any longer and no festivities were being held.

* * *

Rin arrived at yet another village after her brief meeting with Sesshomaru. She had forgotten all about Kotoma and 'The Pure One' and her thoughts were simply on her lord and how he had not forgotten her. She quickly stopped by a food shop and ordered something for her to eat outside. Two men were sitting at the bench opposite to her.

"Hey, there you! Are you by any chance a priestess?" one of them asked.

Both men were wearing armor so Rin assumed that they were soldiers of some kind.

"I suppose I might be called that," she said, still uncomfortable about taking on the title of a priestess so abruptly. She hadn't done any official training yet either.

"Then I suppose you can heal flesh wounds and take care of the sick?"

Rin thought back a bit. Well, she _had_ helped Kaede and Kagome when some of the villagers were in pain although flesh wounds didn't really happen in their village.

"I do know how to work with medicinal herbs," Rin said.

"Then can you come over to our camp just a little ways from here and help our friend?" the older of the two men asked.

"Well, I really must be heading my own way," Rin said, thinking that she really should be on her way to the Temple. She was getting quite close and she didn't want to work as a priestess when she hadn't earned the right to be called that. "Perhaps you can get a doctor in the village to help..."

"There are no doctors," said the younger one. "We've already asked everyone in the village and there isn't a doctor for miles off."

"Please, if you'd only take a look at him for a bit," begged the older one.

_I suppose it can't be helped then,_ Rin thought, the kindness in her heart getting the better of her again. She stood. "Alright, I shall see to your friend then," she said.

* * *

**There was nothing much to this chapter except really Kohaku and Shippo's introductions (and Kirara's of course) but there's also a sort of continuation on Rin's adventure.  
**

**I promise that the next chapter will be more intense by a lot so please continue to review, follow and favourite. Thanks everyone!**


	12. Chapter 12

**There haven't been ANY reviews for my last chapter but I suppose that that's natural since a lot didn't happen last chapter so I don't mind. In this chapter some stuff will happen though so be ready!**

**All I can say is enjoy reading!**

**OH! And before I forget, the reason Sesshomaru DIDN'T give the gift to Rin himself is because Jaken still has it while he's searching for Rin.**

* * *

Rin followed the two men into the forest where their camp was located. Just as they'd told her, there lay a man who was sick and had a wound on his left leg.

"Men, we've brought a priestess," the older man said, causing all of the other man to step aside.

Rin approached him and looked down to him and indeed he was injured, but something just wasn't right. His entire body and even his blood system was clean. And by clean it was...pure...

Rin had a sudden realization about what and _who_ might've been involved only she wondered at why it would be affecting the soldier as to make him feel ill. His flesh wound was from battle, no doubt about it but the reason he was feeling sick was probably because his blood system was just _too pure_ for his human body to handle. Only a skilled monk or priestess could endure that amount of purity in their body!

_I must extract it,_ thought Rin, rolling up her sleeves.

"Please get some water," she said to some soldiers standing by. And then she set about her work, slowly but surely drawing out some of the purity from his system. Once she had cleared the area around his heart of the pure aura, he suddenly came to and woke.

"W-what happened?" he asked.

"Sir, can you tell me just what happened to you?"

"Well, he got injured in battle as you can see," said a soldier, referring to the man's flesh wound.

"No, that wasn't it," coughed the man. "I was feeling fine until I reached a stream near our camp. As soon as I took some water and drank it, I suddenly felt sick all over."

"It's true. I found him lying by the bank of the stream," another soldier said. "He was unconscious but I assumed that it must be the wound."

Rin stood. "His wound isn't that serious and it will heal by itself," she said. "All he needs is rest only all of you, keep away from that stream."

"Why priestess? Ya reckon it was poisoned or something?"

"No," Rin breathed, already heading towards the direction where she heard flowing water. "Not poisoned."

* * *

Kohaku and Shippo talked some while flying and then suddenly both of them noticed a speck in the sky coming towards them. As soon as it got close enough, they both recognized it.

"Master Jaken and A-Un!" Kohaku exclaimed.

"Ah, it's young Kohaku!" exclaimed Jaken. "And that fox child."

"I've grown you know!" Shippo retorted.

"Hmm, yes indeed," Jaken observed. "By the way, is it possible that either of you have seen Rin?"

"Rin?" Shippo asked. "Isn't she in the village though?"

Jaken shook his head. "Nope, I'm afraid not."

"Where is she then?" Kohaku asked, immediately concerned.

"Oh, she's gone off on her own way to become a priestess and now Lord Sesshomaru has me looking everyone for her to give her his gift."

"Lord Sesshomaru was going to come to her celebration this year?" Kohaku asked. From what he'd heard Sesshomaru hadn't attended Rin's celebration for the past two years!

"Like you're one to talk," scoffed Jaken. "You haven't been at her celebration last year either Kohaku!"

Kohaku bit his lip.

"Well," sighed Jaken. "If you haven't seen her then I'll be on my way..."

"Jaken!" barked a voice from behind them.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" exclaimed Kohaku as the magnificent demon came into view.

"Ah! L-Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken yelped, while bowing on A-Un's back. "I regret to report my lord, that I have as of yet to find Rin, but we can be certain that she's not in the west for I've thoroughly searched that region and..."

"I've found her," Sesshomaru said.

"Wh-ah! Oh, you did..." Jaken said.

"And? Is she alright?" Kohaku asked.

Sesshomaru ignored his question. "Jaken, hand me the gift for Rin."

"Yes my lord," the imp said, handing it to Sesshomaru. "But why?"

Without another word, Sesshomaru was off again before anyone could say another word. He wasn't going fast on purpose, but that was just his normal speed.

"So um...does this mean I get to go home?" Jaken meekly asked. "What do you think Koha-eh where are you going?!"

As it was, Kohaku, Shippo and Kirara had also flown off as soon as Sesshomaru had.

* * *

Rin arrived at the edge of the stream and observed it as it flowed downwards.

_I don't understand,_ she thought. _If it's all so pure then how could it harm a human? Maybe it's just...too pure?_

She looked down at the small bottle that Kotoma had given her and wondered if the water from the spring and the water in the bottle were both related to 'The Pure One.' They just had to be. It wouldn't make sense any other way. Where did the stream come from though?

And so Rin began making her way uphill, following the steam which soon turned into a river, which made it's way right out of the forest and through to a great yet peaceful town with the river that ran right alongside it and into what seemed to be a lake on the northern side.

She couldn't reach the lake though because the more she traveled north through the village streets, the closer she came to a great castle by the lake. The castle itself seemed to be located at the very base of the lake.

She barely arrived at the gates before she was stopped by two guards.

"Go away priestess, we've ordered no exorcisms for this palace," one of them retorted.

"Huh?" Rin said. "You are mistaken. I merely wish to see the contents of the lake located here. Only this is the only way to get to it that does not require going through the mountains."

"Look priestess, our lord is very religious so it wouldn't do us any good to have to injure a priestess. Leave now before we're forced to harm you," the other guard said.

Rin was no intention of turning back, because she had to know how the contents of the lake which seemed to be the source of the water in the stream. The aura of purity came the most intently from beyond the castle gates.

"Please let me in," she tried one more time.

"We told you to leave!" the first guard said, raising a long stick.

Rin wasn't very experienced in fighting humans and she hoped more than anything that she wouldn't have to. She quickly raised up her arms to at least protect her head, not knowing what else to do.

"Stop!" yelled a voice.

* * *

**I hope this chapter was more exciting for you readers since now Sesshomaru's got the gift back from Jaken. That one only mean one thing: yes, he's going to deliver it himself. But what IS the gift exactly?**

**Also, what's going to happen to Rin right now?**

**Review, follow and favourite and you'll soon find out!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I'm so glad that everyone likes this fanfic and I love it too! Only like I did on my other story (Lady Missy), I've also got to advertise a bit because I've released 2 new fanfics and they're not getting as much fandom as this one is. If you are interested in either one (I'll post descriptions below) please read, review, follow and favourite them. They are:**

**High Noon *Twilight based*-Due to a new vampire girl's introduction to the family,and a return of a lost werewolf girl, the supernatural world of vampires and werewolves is in deep trouble once again. Only this time, not only is a young werewolf, but an unsuspecting Volturi guard is also involved. How can the Volturi hope to overthrow the Cullens this time when one of their best guards is not on their side?**

**Rosolin's Hope (aka The 35th Annual Hunger Games) *Hunger Games based*-It's the 35th Annual Hunger Games and Rosolin Parks now finds herself in a game that she never wanted to be in. Her one goal before she dies is to kill at least one Career from District 2 in order to avenge her brother's death from an earlier game. Only what if one Career isn't as bad as she thought? And what about her tribute partner from her district who's fallen for her?**

**Ok, that's about it for my message and now to the story!**

* * *

Rin and the guard both looked up as a young man hurriedly approached them. As he almost reached them though, he collapsed on the ground and began coughing. Both Rin and the guard ran over into the castle grounds (because this man was from the castle) and bent down over him. A few other servants rushed forward.

"Your highness, your condition!" one of the servants exclaimed.

_Your highness?_ Rin wondered. So this was the the prince of that palace?

He looked very young all except his long hair which was a deep white colour like snow. His eyes were a calm brown and his skin was almost as pale as his hair.

"Ah, I'm alright," the prince coughed. "Just please stop the guard from turning out that young priestess."

"Ah, a priestess?" a servant exclaimed. "Milord, do you think she may be able to help you?"

"Perhaps," the prince said, looking up at Rin. "Welcome priestess and please excuse my guard. I am Yowai, Prince of the Owa clan and master of this palace. I'm afraid my servants have been very rude to you."

"Oh no!" Rin exclaimed. "I had no right to trespass by here, only I wanted to see the lake."

"The lake?" Yowai asked. "Ah, you mean the lake that is behind my palace?"

Rin nodded. "Exactly."

"Now why would a priestess be interested in seeing a lake?"

Rin felt uncomfortable with discussing her purpose, but the prince had an honest face so she felt she could trust him. But she didn't feel that it was the proper time for telling him that.

"My name is Rin and I am not yet a full fledged priestess," she explained. "However I had worked with medication before so I may be able to help you."

"Prepare a meal!" Yowai exclaimed, as his servants lifted him up. "We will talk at the dinner table then, Rin."

Rin followed into his palace which was more grand and marvelous than anything she had ever seen before. The prince was finally set down on his throne and Rin and he were left alone.

"Now tell me your purpose," he said, leaning back. His movements were slow, and every part of him looked to be so fragile and weak.

"First tell me about you first, sire," Rin said. "I'm only allowed here on the condition that I see to what ails you."

The prince chuckled. "I have been this way since birth. My mother has even named me 'Yowai' because I am so weak. My father runs our clan affairs while I simply look after things in this village. He sent me here promising that I'd be safe from the war or from demons. My mother is now dead and I am the only heir to the clan so he intends to get me married at some point, however I doubt that I can have children so my cousins shall perhaps rule. I'm really only a burden to all those around me. My illness cannot be cured by medicine priestess..."

"But then why..."

"I know you intend to ask me why I let you in priestess," Yowai said. "It is because even the very look of you intrigued me as it is not often that a monk or priestess comes by. I have forbidden all doctors to even get near me for I know they do no good and only charge me for false medicines."

"I had no medicines on me," Rin said. "I only wanted to look and see if I may discover your ailment."

"Go right ahead," Yowai said. "You may come closer and look to see if you can find what is wrong but first...your true purpose."

Rin held her breath for a moment but then spoke. "I have sensed an odd aura coming from a river not too far from here and the base of this river lies in the lake behind your castle. I wish to find the origins of this odd lake."

Yowai's eyes widened. "You wish to see the contents of the lake for that purpose?"

Rin nodded.

"Very well," the prince said. "Then follow me."

* * *

**Short chapter, I know but all my chapters are rather short now since I have a lot of homework. I'll write again soon I hope and until then, please review, follow and favourite but not just this story but my other 2 stories if you have any interest. Please and thanks!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Ok, I gave you guys a short chapter yesterday but not all chapters can be long! I've moved through this chapter a bit quickly as well since I'm still in a hurry! Enjoy everyone!**

* * *

The prince moved slowly yet somehow still gracefully as he led Rin through his castle and out onto his grounds. Stone steps led them down a hill and to a part of the lake.

As Rin and Yowai reached the water's edge, Rin began to feel a bit sick. Indeed, the purity around the lake was strong enough to affect even her, though not by a lot.

"This is the lake," Yowai said, pointing over it. "Is this was you wanted to see, Rin?"

"Yes, Rin said, bending down by the lake's edge. She reached out her hand to take some of the water but then she heard a soft thud behind her. Turning, she found the prince sprawled on the ground, having fainted or something of the sort.

"Your highness?" Rin asked, trying to shake him awake. When she saw that it was futile though, she wondered at why he had fainted. Was it because of his sickness or did it have something to do with the lake?

_If drinking the water from the river made that soldier so sick,_ Rin thought, _then surely this lake must have had the same effect on the prince!_

Rin left him lying on the grass as she went over to the lake's edge. She was just about to touch the surface but then the surface where she was about to touch turned to sudden ice.

"Wha-" Looking up, Rin noticed a small figure walking towards her across the ice. As it reached closer, she thought she recognized who it was.

"Kotoma?!" she called.

But as she saw the figure through the sudden mist, it was not Kotoma. It looked exactly like Kotoma and even wore the same Kimono, only it's hair was a light blue color, as well at it's eyes.

"I am Kotaru," the young boy said. "Kotoma is my brother."

"So then, you're also a shikigami of The Pure One?" Rin asked, confirming her suspicions that the purity of both the river and the lake had something to do with Kotoma's and now Kotaru's master! Rin knew she couldn't put it off any longer. Last time she had put it off because of her sudden meeting with Lord Sesshomaru and...

Wait, Lord Sesshomaru? Rin gasped, suddenly realizing that maybe he was unaware of all that was happening. Also, her birthday was in three days and it also happened to be the night of the full moon on her birth date! Whoever the Pure One was, he obviously wasn't someone to be trifled with. But could she handle this on her own? She wasn't even a full priestess yet!

"Yes, that is correct," Kotaru answered. "You know of my master?"

"Does your master have power over this lake?"

"The prince's illness is from birth," Kotaru said. "It has nothing to do with my master."

Rin looked down worriedly. "Tell your master that I shall be meeting with him once I am a priestess. Until then, I shall be training," she said.

Kotaru looked her up and down and then nodded. "He will be expecting you then."

Rin smiled and then called a few of the servants to take the prince back to his quarters and then tell him of her departure once he awoke.

Rin left on her way, thinking over what she should do. She doubted that the prince's illness really could have nothing to do with the lake, but she couldn't be sure since she hadn't checked his body for any signs of purity. But that was not important.

She had to complete what she had set out to do in the first place which was to become a full-fledged priestess.

* * *

Yowai woke up about two days after Rin left and by that time Rin had already traveled far from his castle.

"The priestess," he said as soon as she woke up. "Where is she?"

"She has departed sire. She told us that you had fainted while showing her the lake."

"So she's left?" laughed the prince. "Unacceptable. Did I not have her word that she would look at me to find my illness? Go after her and bring her back to me."

"Yes sir!

* * *

Sesshomaru arrived back at his palace in no time at all and then he decided to set Tenseiga aside for it kept pulsing and was distracting him. His servants set down before him a few pieces of the new mineral they had discovered in the mines. Sesshomaru looked over how it glistened, and was about to test it out with his Bakusaiga when a knock sounded on the door and Sesshomaru's mother entered into the room.

"You seem busy son," the Lady Mother of the West commented. "Perhaps too busy even for your own mother?"

"What do you want?" Sesshomaru asked, stepping forward.

Sesshomaru's mother eyed the bundle containing Rin's present that he had left sitting on his throne.

"What might that be?" she asked.

* * *

**Ooh, interesting, isn't it?**

**Rin's decided to meet with the Pure One, but only AFTER she becomes a priestess for real.**

**Yowai still believes that Rin can cure him, but can she?**

**Is his illness related to the purity in the lake or isn't it?**

**And now Sesshomaru's mother has also come into the picture! MORE LATER!**

**Please review, favourite and follow everyone! Thanks!**


End file.
